Hello anteaters,
Internships, jobs, resume, cover letter, networking, contacts etc etc are the words which you will be hearing so frequently throughout your stay in the school. Don’t panic, the above said words are important but have this in mind. You are in “California”. There can’t be any better place to enjoy summer than California. I personally being an international student know how it feels to be in here and most of our dreams would be to secure an internship for summer. Let me tell you this, the reason why I chose US over other countries for my graduate studies is mainly because of the “Work-Life” balance which is very much respected in here. In which case I would highly recommend you to make the most out of it during summer.
Internship:
The first thing is having a good resume. This is the first step in your grad life, then start networking. No matter who you talk to, stay connected and move with the flow. Make the most of any opportunity that comes your way. Visit the Career Center (http://career.uci.edu/) often and start applying for internships for summer as the world these days have become really competitive. It may seem likes it’s too early to talk about summer internship, but it’s important to plan ahead if you want to keep up with the competition. Some companies may begin recruiting for summer internships as soon as winter quarter.
Home sweet home:
There can never be a better place than home and staying under the care of parents and having fun with friends. Check the UCI calendar and also check with your employer about your start and end dates and plan your trip home accordingly. If you can manage to schedule your trip at least 3 months early you can get good deals in flight fare and also you can plan on buying gifts back home.
Vacation:
As I was saying before, there can never be any better time than “Californian summer”. You can plan sufficiently for some surfing lessons or visiting the National parks where there won’t be snow during summer. You can plan on road trips as the days are longer than nights.
As a whole, you are in an amazing place. Plan your summer and make your friends in your home and in other parts jealous of your California Summer. Good luck folks!.